Mutation Related to Migraines Identified Through Sleep Patterns

 According to Medical News Today, a link has been identified between migraines and an advanced and unusual sleep disorder.  The disorder is known as familial advanced phase sleep syndrome.  FAPSS is a rare sleep disorder in which an individual's circadian rhythm causes that person to go to sleep at an early time and then wake up well before dawn.  For example, someone with this disorder would be known to go to bed around 6:00 pm and then would wake up around 3:00 am.  Because this sleep disorder is so rare, doctors were able to determine a connection when they noticed that those individuals that are affected by the disorder are also commonly affected by migraines.

  So, what's the link?  The mutation occurs when the enzyme CKIδ becomes impaired.  The enzyme CKIδ is known as a common "housekeeping" enzyme because it functions in maintaining several different, basic processes and regulations throughout the body.  One of CKIδ's functions is to help control the circadian rhythm that determine's the sleep cycle. 

In the mid 1990s, Dr. Robert E. Shapiro was working with a family that was known to have familial advanced phase sleep syndrome.  It was by working with this family that he was able to make the connection that the family members also suffered from migraines.  Because migraines alone are so vague and common, the mutation in the CKIδ enzyme would have been impossible to discover based on the presence of migraine symptoms alone.  Eventually, the mutation was identified to be the cause of the sleep disorder and further studies were then conducted to decipher whether or not the mutation also had a direct impact on migraines. 

The mutation in the CKIδ gene now creates a total of 6 genes that have been isolated and found to cause migraines.  Studies are currently underway to develop a new drug therapy for the treatment of migraines.